Mikkeller Brewery tapped into the New York City craft beer market with their March 25th, 2018 opening.   Founder Mikkel Borg Bjergsø started the brand in 2003 and has since built up a cult following and if you're a  beer geek and live in Flushing and have yet to have taken the trip to the tap room located in CitiField at123-01 Roosevelt Ave, Flushing, NY, well then youre probably not a real beer geek.  The 10,000-square-foot space functions as a brewery, bar, and restaurant, with 60 rotating taps and a menu that pulls together food from various chefs.

This article seeks to review one of Mikkeller's latest releases, Cross Island Sawce, a collaboration beer with Press 192 [located on Bell Boulevard].  The  Northern Queens IPA  was inspired by their chefs Pineapple Sriracha sauce and is hopped with Citra and Centennial, and caramelized pineapple puree is added in the fermenter for a tropical twist.  The beer clocks in with an ABV of 6.5%.    The beer pours with a foamy two fingers of head with a danky honey amber haze that typifies Mikeller.  The smell is pure pineapple citrus, very perfumy and citrusy hops.   At first taste, pineapple sweetness hits first and foremost, followed by the hop bitterness.  A medium punch of spicy, piney hop bitterness.  Overall, a really nice IPA. 

That said, Cross Island Sawce doesnt rise to the same level as their Autumn release SkyFood  which was a locally sourced Flushing ingredient IPA made with ginger, Szechuan peppercorns, young coconut, aloe, durian, orange zest, honey, jasmine flowers, and lychee. Skyfood  was a collaboration with Tired Hands Brewing that clocked in at 8% that was more balanced in execution.  All in all though,...both great brews!!!